Real Wedding: Rebecca & Jimmy
There’s probably nothing more magical than watching the sky clear above your wedding reception after an unexpected rainstorm, to be replaced by a perfect rainbow — unless it’s seeing two perfect rainbows arch across the sky like a magical benediction.
For Rebecca Babcock and Jimmy Bradley, that kind of serendipity has been a cornerstone of their relationship since their very first meeting, a blind date orchestrated by a mutual friend. Mid-conversation, the couple looked up and realized their matchmaking friend had discreetly vanished; they were so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn’t even noticed her departure. Later, a Christmas vacation spent alone together in Hawaii seemed at first like a terrible mistake to Rebecca, who had never spent the holidays away from her family in her entire life. However, when Jimmy asked her to marry him on a private beach on Christmas Eve, she realized that she was actually spending her first holiday with her new family. For Rebecca and Jimmy, everything always just seemed to fall perfectly into place.
Rebecca had spent her childhood vacationing in Stowe and couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to get married than on her parents’ picturesque farm in Morrisville, with its 116 acres of rolling fields and breathtaking mountain views. Initially, the wedding day weather seemed determined to rebel against her perfect plans, sending alarming sheets of rain, thunder, and lightning crashing down onto the celebration site as Rebecca and Jimmy’s vendors efficiently did their best to battle the elements and keep the party on track.
“It could have been a huge, electrical, muddy, logistical nightmare,” says Rebecca. “But thanks to all the great people working with us, it was a fun challenge and not a disaster.”
It certainly didn’t hurt that the guests had delicious food to nosh on as they crowded, laughing, beneath the cocktail tents to wait out the rain. Jimmy, a James Beard Award–winning chef, had called on the teams from his two New York City restaurants, The Red Cat and The Harrison, to pull together a spectacular wedding feast featuring some of his restaurants’ greatest hits. As the guests nibbled on fried troutlings with green aioli and perfectly prepared lobster rolls and sipped the couple’s signature wedding drinks, the sky finally cleared revealing a beautiful rainbow, quickly followed by a second rainbow, arching over the first one. The band broke into the soft strains of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as guests poured out of the tent for the once-in-a-lifetime view. And just like that, the rainstorm was transformed from bane to blessing.
Rebecca and Jimmy included several other memorable — if less dramatic — details in their festivities. Wedding photos of their closest friends and family members on their own special days were scattered around the reception site, including them all in the celebration. Guests ducked into the photo booth so they could slip playful pictures into the nearby guest book. The walls of the barn were decorated with guests’ response cards, which the couple had requested they fill out as creatively as they wanted. Parts of the meal were served family-style, encouraging the attendees to chat and interact with each other. Guests scooped up M&M's in wedding colors from a candy bar and grinned delightedly when they recognized Rebecca and Jimmy's faces printed on the candy.
In the end, dinner started almost an hour late, not because of the rain but because of the rainbows. “People were just mesmerized,” says Rebecca. “The rainbows didn’t want to dissipate, and no one wanted to stop looking at them.” As the party rolled into the evening, the bride and groom took a turn on the dance floor to Gene Raffery’s “Right Down the Line.” The rainbows finally faded into the twilight, but the real magic was just beginning.
Rebecca’s Tips:
1) Make a wedding planning date once a week , and only talk about wedding stuff then. otherwise, you run the risk of completely losing track of your normal life.
2) Embrace the DIY spirit and get your family and friends involved with making some of the elements for your wedding. Yes, you’ll save some money, but even more important, you’ll have something totally unique.
{Other professionals}
Catering: Harrison’s and The Red Cat
Entertainment: Street Talk
Invitaitons: Askew Designs
Logo design: BetsyWhite